Hill 'n' Dale | Horse Racing Free Tips

Midnight Bisou Arrives at Hill ‘n’ Dale, To Visit Curlin in 2021

Champion Midnight Bisou (Midnight Lute) arrived at Hill ‘n’ Dale at Xalapa Thursday afternoon after completing her final phase of rehabilitation at WinStar Farm. The five-time Grade I winner will visit Hill ‘n’ Dale flagbearer Curlin.

Midnight Bisou was preparing for her Breeders’ Cup bid this fall when she incurred a sesamoid fracture during a work at the end of September that forced connections to retire the mare prematurely.
The champion shone as one of brightest stars at the Fasig-Tipton November Sale Nov. 8. Co-owner Chuck Allen of Allen Racing couldn’t bear to part with the near $7.5-million earner and bought out fellow partners Bloom Racing Stable and Madaket Stables for a winning bid of $5 million.

After going through the ring, Midnight Bisou returned to WinStar Farm to complete the rehabilitation process.

“Midnight Bisou was at WinStar and has been cleared to begin a broodmare career and has arrived here safely today,” said Hill ‘n’ Dale General Manager Jared Burdine. “She’s an earner of over $7.4 million, an Eclipse Champion. She’s going to visit Curlin, who earned over $10.5 million and was a champion as well. So it’s a Classic sire and it should be a Classic-distance baby. She’s in great hands here. We’re excited to have her here and can’t wait to begin her career, especially with champion Curlin.”

An $80,000 2017 OBS April Sale purchase for Jeff Bloom, Midnight Bisou won five graded stakes at three including the GI Santa Anita Oaks and GI Cotillion S.

She reached higher stardom at four, taking the GI Apple Blossom H., GI Ogden Phipps S. and GI Personal Ensign, earning the Eclipse crown for her division. This year, the Steve Asmussen pupil ran second behind Maximum Security (New Year’s Day) in the Saudi Cup, romped in the GII Fleur de Lis S. after her return to the States, and then came in second in the GI Personal Ensign S.

“Special horses like her make us get up and try harder each and every day,” Burdine said. “They give you enthusiasm to get to the barn and they’re what drives our business. She’s a very intelligent, classy mare. She looks beautiful.”

Midnight Bisou is among the first new arrivals to Hill ‘n’ Dale at Xalapa, the farm outside of Paris, Ky. that John Sikura purchased over a year ago. The Hill ‘n’ Dale stallion roster made the journey to their new stud barn this October.

“There’s no better place for her to begin her broodmare career, I believe, than with this setting here,” Burdine said. “We’re honored that Mr. Bloom and Mr. Allen entrusted us with taking her through this part of her career.”

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Curlin Tops Hill ‘n’ Dale at Xalapa’s 2021 Roster

Hall of Famer Curlin (Smart Strike) once again leads the 2021 roster at Hill ‘n’ Dale, which recently moved to their new Xalapa property outside of Paris. The leading stallion’s 2021 fee remains unchanged at $175,000 LFS&N.

“We are aware of the pressures on the market due to the uncertain climate we find ourselves in. Hill ‘n’ Dale will once again look to be an industry leader by offering exceptional value in its entire roster. We are all in this together and together we will grow stronger as an industry,” commented John G. Sikura, President of Hill ‘n’ Dale at Xalapa. “There are two stallions on the roster in particular who embody our effort to provide exceptional value in these challenging times. Maclean’s Music is emerging as an important young sire. Jackie’s Warrior has been described as the best two year old in the country. He is yet another example of his sire’s ability to produce an elite runner. In addition, Violence who has led virtually every category since his runners hit the track is the co-leading sire of Grade I winners with the likes of Into Mischief. His future remains bright. I repeat, we are all in this together.”

Kitten’s Joy (El Prado {Ire}), another perennial leading sire, had his fee decreased from $75,000 to $60,000 LFS&N. Maclean’s Music (Distorted Humor) remains at $20,000, but that is for contracts signed prior to the Breeders’ Cup, where his undefeated son Jackie’s Warrior will be favored in the GI Juvenile.

The rest of the roster is as follows with all fees LFS&N: Army Mule (Friesian Fire) went from $10,000 to $7,500; Bayern (Offlee Wild) was cut in half from $15,000 to $7,500; Flintshire (GB) (Dansili {GB}) was reduced from $15,000 to $10,000; Good Magic (Curlin), was cut from $35,000 to $30,000; Kantharos (Lion Heart) remains at $30,000; Lost Treasure (Ire) (War Front) is also unchanged at $5,000; Midnight Lute (Real Quiet) holds steady at $15,000; Stormy Atlantic (Storm Cat) is at $10,000; Violence (Medaglia d’Oro) remains at $25,000 after a stellar season; and Wolrd of Trouble (Kantharos) is also unchanged at $15,000.

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Hill ‘n’ Dale Stallions Settling in at Xalapa

A caravan of four massive Sallee Horse Vans journeyed from Fayette County to Bourbon County today to deliver the 13 members of the Hill ‘n’ Dale stallion roster to their new residence: Hill ‘n’ Dale at Xalapa.

While Hill ‘n’ Dale President John Sikura said there was apprehension going into the big move, everything went smoothly.

“It’s kind of like when a horse goes in the starting gate–lots can go wrong,” he said. “But thanks to the quality and class of the horses and the horsemanship of everybody who was all hands on deck, the horses really sort of embarrassed us with our suspense and worry.”

Two-time Horse of the Year and Hill ‘n’ Dale flagbearer Curlin (Smart Strike) settled in quickly in his new stall nearest to the barn entrance.

“As you would expect, Curlin was the leader,” Sikura said. “Within 10 seconds of being in the stall he had his head down eating alfalfa and never turned a hair. Even Kitten’s Joy (El Prado {Ire}), who’s an excitable, high-energy horse hollered once or twice and went to his hay rack.”

For Sikura, today marked the fruition of a dream that has been on his mind for years.

“I first saw Xalapa probably 10 or 12 years ago and when I set foot on the place, it made a lasting impression,” he recalled. “I thought it was the most vivid, natural, spectacular piece of land that I’ve ever seen. I’d often dreamt about this farm and wondered about converting it into a modern, great horse farm. The opportunity came about to buy the place and I thought it was a once in a lifetime opportunity.”

Sikura said that the development of their new acquisition has been ongoing for the past year-and-a-half.

“It’s been overwhelming as far as the depth and scope and amount of projects,” he said. “We’ve been working seven days a week, from dark to dark every day for about 18 months now. I think we’ve converted two farms of nearly 1,400 acres and maybe a decade’s worth of work in 18 months. It’s been a labor of love and emotions from overwhelming to challenging to just now starting to feel the satisfaction of seeing it all come together.”

Sikura shared that Xalapa was acquired by breeder Edward Simms after the turn of the 20th century and that Simms focused heavily on the landscaping of the property with the goal of making the estate “the Biltmore of the South.”

When Prince Palatine (Persimmon), winner of the St. Leger S. who was imported to Xalapa Farm for the later part of his stud career, perished in a stable fire, Sikura said that Simms vowed that all the barns on the property would be fireproof and so he made all the buildings of stone and concrete.

Sikura aims to maintain similar architecture in his renovations.

“I’ve done everything in very natural, earthy tones of the highest-quality material,” he said. “We’ve kept that theme without deferring our standards. It’s a lengthy process because everything is handcrafted. It’s not cookie cutter.”

While most of the heavy lifting on the undertaking is complete, Sikura is now enjoying putting on the finishing touches.

“I’ve very excited and proud of the place,” he said. “Not proud of myself, but proud of the opportunity and the stewardship that we’ve undertaken to bring this farm back to a sense of greatness. We look forward to achieving and succeeding with all that we do in a one-of-a-kind setting and the most unique farm that I believe exists.”

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Curlin Colt Leapfrogs Into Lead at KEESEP

A colt by Curlin has no shortage of new owners after Gainesway’s Alex Solis signed the ticket on hip 282 at $1.2 million Monday at Keeneland. The new partnership includes Mike Repole, Vinnie Viola’s St. Elias, Gainesway, John Oxley and Robert Clay’s Grandview.
“We’ve been talking about all the colts we liked and I really liked this colt,” Solis said after signing the lengthy ticket. “I thought his mother was a pretty special filly. All week long I kept seeing him and thought I’d like to find a way to take a piece of this colt.”
The gray colt is out of multiple Grade I winner Midnight Lucky (Midnight Lute) and was co-bred by Hill ‘n’ Dale Farm, Mike PEgram, Karl Watson, and Paul Weitman. The mare was trained by Hall of Famer Bob Baffert, who was an interested observer while standing out back as the bidding escalated.
Pegram purchased Midnight Lucky for $220,000 at the 2011 Fasig-Tipton Saratoga Sale. She went on to win the 2013 GI Acorn S. and 2014 GI Humana Distaff S. for Pegram, Watson and Weitman. The 10-year-old mare produced a filly by Curlin this year and was bred back to Triple Crown winner Justify.
Solis did his bidding while standing in the doorway of the sales pavilion and surrounded by a crowd which included Gainesway owner Antony Beck, Clay and trainer Todd Pletcher.
“I thought he’d be somewhere around there,” Solis said of the colt’s final price. “I didn’t know where. In this market, it’s kind of who you run into.”
Asked if the purchase was made considering a future stallion career for the yearling, Solis said, “Oh yes. When you pay that much money, you’re hoping it’s multiples if they hit.”

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